Bottom filling machine



y 1938? 5. J. FINN I BOTTOM FILLING MACHINE Filed May 22, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Figl.

y 1938. s. J. FINN BOTTOM FILLING MACHINE Filed May 22, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T W I 252%! Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTOM FILLING MACHINE Sidney 'J. Finn,

Beverly, Ma ss.,

assignor to Application May 22, 1936, Serial No. 81,303

16 Claims.

' Thisinvention relates to machines for filling shoes and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for depositing in a cavity in the bottom of a lasted shoe a filler piece in theform of a sheet, otplastic filling material having a predetermined outline.

.For convenience the invention will be described in connection withthe filling of the cavity in theforepart of the bottom of a Goodyear welt shoe, although it should be understood that neither the particular cavity nor the particular type of shoe is material. In the manufacture of Goodyear welt shoes, it is customary to place in the forepart vof the bottom of the shoe, in the cavity defined substantially by the inseam, a quantity of plastic filling material to which pressure is subsequently applied to spread it throughout,the cavity so that in the finished shoe this cavity, which lies between the insole and the outsole, will be completely filled. The pressure which acts to spread, press and moldthe filling material may be applied in various ways, for example by a; hand tool or by a suitable machine, before the outsole is pressedon the bottom of the shoe, or it maybe applied through the outsole. In any case it is desirable that the filling material should be deposited in sheet form as a filler piece of predetermined outline.

According to one feature of the invention there is -:provided power-operated means for forcing filling material into a member having a delivery ope i g of suitable outline, and means for supporting a shoe and for holding it stationary in position. .to receive-upon itsbottom'a filler piece delivered through the opening. Inthe illustrated construction the delivery member has a chamber provided with a delivery opening, said chamberbeing connected with a receptacle for plastic filling material upon which a force-feed mechanism acts, the shoe being placed upon a support which is moved to press the bottom of the shoe firmly against the rim of the delivery opening. There is thus deposited upon the.bottom of the shoe a sheetlike piece of filling material having 45 the outline of the delivery opening.

' Inasmuch as the cavities in thebottoms of shoes vary in size, means is provided, in accordance with another feature-of the invention, for varying the. content. of the filler piece. illustrated construction, means is provided for varying. the effective size of the delivery chamber from which thedelivery opening leads. As shown, a valve, whichcontrols the flow of filling material from the. receptacle to the delivery sschamber, has a, face which serves also as a wall In the or bottom of the chamber, the effective size of the chamber thus varying in accordance with the position occupied by the valve when it is in open position, means being provided for varying the position occupied by the valve when it is open.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be set forth as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a machine in which the invention is embodied, a shoe being shown in process of having a shaped filler piece of predetermined outline and thickness deposited in the cavity in its forepa'rt;

, Fig. 2 is a view on an enlargedscale and principally in section of the work-engaging parts of the machine, the shoe being shown as in Fig. 1; and

I .Fig. 3 is a perspective of a shoe in which a filler piecehas been deposited.

The machine comprises a receptacle 5 for filling material which commonly consists of ground cork and a plastic binder. In the lower part of the receptacle is a conical chamber the axis of which is substantially horizontal, and'in this chamber is located a conical feed screw I mounted on a shaft 9. A pulley ll rotatably mounted on the shaft is continuously driven by a belt I3 from any suitable source of power. The feed screw '1 is normally at rest and may be caused to rotate at any time by means of a friction clutch which may be thrown in to connect it with the pulley II by pushing up a forked wedge l5. ther description of the clutch will be given since the details of its construction form no part of the present invention and any suitable clutch may befused. ,It will be understood, however, that when. the forked wedge l5 occupies the upper position in which it is shown, power is being appliedftothe feed screw to rotate it, and that when the forked wedge is pulled down power is withdrawn and the feed screw comes to rest. The forked wedge I5 is connected by a link I! withone end of a lever l9 pivoted at 2| to the frame of the machine and having at its other end an eye through which loosely passes the upper part of a trea-dle rod 23, said rod having adjustably fastened to it above the eye a collar 25 which, when the treadle rod has been pulled down into the position shown by depressing a treadle. (not shown), swings the lever in such manner as to push up the forked wedge l5 and thereby throw in the friction clutch. The treadle No fur- 3 rod 23 is pulled up when the treadle is released by a tension spring 27 fastened at its lower end to a collar on the rod 23 and at its upper end to a small horizontal rod 29 carried by the frame. When the treadle has been released and the rod is pulled up by the tension spring 2?, a tension spring 3| fast at one end to the frame and at the other to an arm on the lever 19 acts to pull down the forked wedge I5 and throw out the clutch. The upper part of the receptacle 5 is cylin drical, and into it fits a plunger 33 having a fork at its upper end to receive a lever 35, there being a pin 31 passing through the arms of the fork and through a slot in the lever. This lever is pivoted at one end at 39 to a bracket integral with the receptacle; and from its other end there is suspended by means of a chain a weight 4| which is guided in a cylinder 43 fastened to the bench, upon which the machine rests, by screws one of which is shown at 45. With the construction thus far described the plunger 33 exerts pressure upon the filling material to keep the feed screw supplied at all times with said material; and, when the treadle has been depressed and the parts are in the positions shown, the feed screw acts to force the filling material through an outlet 4? in the small end of the conical chamber which contains the screw.

This outlet communicates, when permitted to do so, with a delivery member 49 which is integral with the conical casing of the feed screw and has a delivery chamber the cross-section of which has the outline of the filler piece to be deposited in the cavity in the bottom of a shoe, for example the outline of the filler piece 250 shown in Fig. 3. In this chamber fits a valve 5|-which, when lowered, closes the outlet of the receptacle. When the valve is raised, as shown, the outlet is opened, and the lower face of the valve serves as a wall which determines the effective depth and consequently the effective capacity of the delivery chamber. The valve 5| is urged at all times to move down, into a position in which it closes the outlet of the receptacle by a'forked lever 53, the arms of the fork being slotted to receive pins 55 carried on opposite sides of the valve 5|. This lever is pivoted about a rod 51, and, in a socket in its tail, carries a springpressed plunger 59 which contacts with the frame of the machine. The valve is normally maintained by the spring plunger in its lower closed position. It is raised by presentation of a shoe to the machine.

To this end, and in order to permit controlled variation of the height to which the'valve is raised and consequently controlled variation of the thickness of the filler piece which is deposited in the shoe, a measuring pin 6| extends through the valve and projects below the lower face thereof, said pin having anenlarged portion threaded into a socket in the valve so that, by turning the pin, the extent to which it projects below the lower face of the valve may be varied. At the top of the pin is a head on which is marked a scale any one of the numbers of which maybe caused to register with a stationary pointer 63. When the bottom of the shoe is presented to the machine by being forced against the rim of the delivery opening at the bottom of the member 49' in a manner presently to be described and filling material is forced from the receptacle through its outlet into the delivery chamberand upon the bottom of. the shoe, the pressure exerted by the filler material tends to raise the valve. Such raising would change the effective content of the delivery chamber which was previously determined by the extent to which the measuring pin was adjusted to project below the bottom face of the valve 5|. In order to prevent such raising of the valve by the pressure of the filling material, a lever 55 fulcrumed on the same rod. on which the lever 53 is fulcrumed, has at one end a fork the arms of which are received between enlargements 5? on the pin 6| and has at the other end a headed stop pin 69 which, when the valve is raised by upward pressure of the bottom of a shoe against the bottom of. the pin, contacts with the frame of the machine as shown in the drawings. I

In order to permit the bottom of a lasted shoe me to be forced up against the rim of the delivery opening in the delivery member 49 and held stationary there, the stem 1| of a shoe support, in the form of a toe rest 13 having a cover of rubber or leather, is vertically slidable in a.

cylindrical bearing in the frame of the machine,

said stem carrying a small cross-pin 15 one end.

of which is received in. a vertical slot TI formedin the bearing member of the stem. Adapted to be moved to raise the shoe support and to permit it to descend is a lever 19 pivoted at 8| to the frame of the machine and having its outer end located beneath the bottom of the pin TI. 'The inner end of the lever has an eye through which the treadle rod 23 loosely passes, said eye being located between a collar 83 adjustably fastened to the treadle rod and a comparatively heavy coil spring 85 the upper end of which bears against the under side of a second collar 81 also adjustably fastened to the rod 23.

' As has been explained above the parts of the machine are shown in the positions they occupy when the treadle is held depressed. When the treadle is released, the tension spring 21 raises the treadle rod 23 so that the collar 25 is spaced somewhat above the eye in the left-hand end of the lever l9, whereupon the spring 3| pulls down the right-hand end of the lever and thereby pulls down the forked wedge member IE to throw out the clutch. Raising of the treadle rod 23 by the spring 21 also causes the collar 83 to swing up the right-hand end of the lever 19 and thereby permit the shoe support 73 to descend and release the shoe. When, therefore, the machine is at rest, the shoe support 13 is in lowered position, the valve 5| is in lowered position in which the outlet of the receptacle 5 is closed, and the clutch is thrown out. The operator adjusts the measuring pin' 5| so that it projects the desired distance below the bottom of the valve 5| to determine the thickness of the filler piece 260 which will later be'deposited in the cavity in the bottom of. the shoe. This adjustment of the pin also adjusts the position of the stop 69 so that the extent of upward movement of .the pin and the valve 5| will be properly limited. The operator then places the shoe bottom side up with the forepart resting onthe support 13 and depresses the treadle to pull down the treadle rod 23. During the first part of this downward movement the collar 81, acting through the comparatively heavy spring 85, forces the'bottom of the shoe up against the bottom of the measuring pin 6| thereby lifting the valve 5| into the position shown, which opens the outlet of the receptacle, and forcing the bottom of the shoe against the rim of the opening in the delivery chamber of the member 49'. During the remainder of the downward movement of the area-rte treadlerod 23 the spring 85 iscompressed, and the collar. '25 pulls down the left-hand end of the lever l9 thereby throwing in the clutch to impart rotation to the feed screw 1'. Filling material is now fed under pressure from the receptacle' through its outlet, into the delivery chamber and upon the bottom of the shoe. The operator permits filling material to flow until a small amount of it is forced through a vent 9| so as to ensure that the delivery chamber has been completely filled. He then releases the treadle whereupon the valve and the shoe descend, and the feed screw 1 ceases its. rotation. He then removes the shoe with the filler piece adhering to its bottom as shown in Fig. 3.

The illustrated machine is designed for use with a filling. material of the cold type which is plastic and somewhat sticky at ordinary temperatures and which sets by reason of evaporation of a volatile liquid contained in it. The delivery member 49 and'valve may be heated if desired, for example by'means ofv electrical heating units, to minimize the tendency of the filling material to stick to them. The machine can be adapted for use with filling material of the thermoplastic type by providing a suitable heating apparatus, for example electrical heating units for the receptacle, the valve 5| and the delivery memberlll.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodiedin an illustrated machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limitedv in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described.

Having described'my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle forfilling material, a stationary delivery member connectedwith said receptacle, said member being provided with a chamber having an opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces tobe placed in the cavities in the bottoms of shoes, means acting to force'filling material from the receptacle into the chamber, and a valve movable from a position in which it prevents flow of filling material to the chamber to a position in which it permits such flow through the chamber to the cavity in the bottom of a shoe held against the opening, whereby filler pieces of a uniform outline may be deposited in the cavities in the bottoms of subcessive shoes. v

2. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling in'aterial,a stationary delivery member connected with said receptacle; said member being provided with'a chamber having an opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces to be placed in the cavities in the bottoms of shoes, means acting to force filling material from the receptacle into the chamber, a valve movable from a position in which it prevents fiow of filling material to the chamber to a position in which it permits such flow through the chamber to the cavity in the bottom of a shoe held against the opening, whereby filler pieces of a uniform'outline may be deposited in the cavities in the bottoms of 'successive shoes, and adjustable means for varying the thicknesses of the filler pieces while maintaining their outlines uniform.

3. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling material, a delivery member connected with the receptacle and provided with a chamber having a delivery opening the outline of which has the outline of the filler pieces to be placed in the bottoms of shoes held' in position to close the opening, a valve for controlling flow of'filling material from the recept'acle'to the opening, and means acting when the valve is open to force filling material from the receptacle through the opening and upon the bottom of the shoe.

4. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling material, a delivery member connected with the receptacle and provided with a chamber having a delivery opening the outline of which has the outline of. the filler pieces to be placed in the bottoms of shoes held in position to close the opening, a valve for controlling flow of filling material from the receptacle to the opening, means acting when the valve is open to force filling material against the bottom of the shoe, and operator-controlled means for pressing the bottom of the shoe against the rim of the opening in the delivery member.

5. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a delivery chamber provided with a delivery opening having the outline of the desired filler piece, means includinga lever for forcing the rim of the opening into firm contact with the bottom, of a shoe, means for forcing filling material into the delivery chamber, and means for varying the effective content of the chamber.

6. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling material, a delivery member connected therewith and provided with a chamber having a delivery opening the outline of which is that of. the filler pieces to be placed in the cavities in the bottoms of shoes, and a valve movable in the chamber to open and close the connection between the chamber and the receptacle, one face of the valve forming a wall the position of which determines the eflective depth of the chamber and thereby the thicknesses of the filler pieces which will be delivered to the bottoms ofshoespresented to the delivery opening '7. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling material, a delivery member connected therewith and provided with achamber having a delivery opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces to be placed: in the cavities in the bottoms of. shoes, a valve movable in the chamber to open and close the connection between the chamber and the receptacle, one face of the valve forming a wall the position of which determines the effective depth of the chamber and thereby the thicknesses of the filler pieces which will be delivered to the bottomsof shoes presented to the delivery opening, and a member carried by the valve and projecting from that face of the valve which forms a wall, said member also projecting beyond the delivery opening when the valve is in position to close the connection between the chamber and the receptacle.

8. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling material, a delivery member connected therewith and provided with a chamber having a delivery opening against which the bottom of a shoe to be filled is held, means for pressing the bottom of the shoe against the rim of the opening and for holding the shoe stationary, means adapted to feed filling material from the receptacle into the chamber, a valve slidable in the chamber to control such feeding, said valve being adapted to be moved by pressing the bottom of the shoe against the rim of the opening to'open said connection, and means for varying theextent of'movernent permitted to said valve.

9. A shoe-bottom filling machine having, in combination, a receptacle fer filling material, a delivery chamber connected therewith and provided with a delivery opening against the rim of which the bottom of a shoe to be filled is held stationary, said opening having the outlineof the filler piece desired to be placed in the cavity in the rim of the shoe, means adapted to feed filling material from the receptacle into the chamberinto contact with the bottom the shoe, a

valve fitting in said chamber and slidable toward the delivery opening to'close the. connection between the chamber and the receptacle and away from the delivery opening to open said connection, yielding means normally holding the valve in position to close the opening, a measuring member adjustably carried by the valve and adapted to be engaged by the shoe to move the valve away from the delivery opening, and a stop member connected to the measuring member for limiting the extent of the last-named movement. 10. A shoe bottom fillingmachine having, in combination, a receptacle for filling material, a delivery chamber connected therewith and having a delivery opening, means adapted to feed filling material I from the receptacle into the chamber into contact with the bottom of shoe, a valve slidable in the chamber, yielding means urging the valve at all times to occupy its lowermost position in which the connection between the-receptacle and the delivery chamber is closed,

' a measuring memberadjustable with respect to the valve and adapted to be engaged by the shoe to move the measuring memberand with itthe valve upward, and a stop member adjustable with the measuring member to limit upward movement of the valve. I e r 11. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in

combination, a member provided with a chamber having a delivery opening, asupport for a shoe, a receptacle for filling material, force-feed mechanism adapted when actuated to force filling material into the chamber, and operator-com trolled means for first moving the support to press the bottom of the shoe and the rim of the,

receptacle, said member being provided with chamber having an opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces to be placed in the cavities in the bottoms of shoes, power operated means acting, when permitted'to do so to force filling material throughthe chamber directly into the cavity in the bottomof a shoe held stationary against the rim of the opening, and a valve for controlling the connection between the chamber and the receptacle.

,13. A shoe bottom filling machine having in combination, a receptacle for filling material a stationary delivery member connected with the receptacle, said. member being provided with a chamber having an opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces to be placed in the cavities/in the bottoms of shoes, power-operated means acting when permitted to do so to force filling material through the chamber directly into the cavity in the bottom of a shoe held stationary against the rim of the opening, a valve for controlling the connection between the chamber and the receptacle, and treadle-eontrolled means for forcing the bottom of a shoe against the rim of ,the opening and for opening the valve.

14. A shoe bottom fiiling machine having, in combination-(a receptacle for filling material, a

stationary delivery member connected with the receptacle, said member being provided with chamber having an opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces to be placed in the cavities in the bottomsof shoes, power=operated means acting when permitted to do so to force filling material through the chamber directly into the cavity in the bottom of a shoe held stationary against the rim of theopening, a valve for controlling the connection between the chamber and the receptacle, a support for a shoe located below the delivery member, and treadle-controlled means for moving the support toward the delivery member and for opening the valve.

15. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in combination, areceptaclefor filling material, a

delivery-chamber provided with a delivery opening the outline of which is that of the filler pieces one of which to beplaced'inthe cavity in the bottom of each shoe, said chamber being connected with the receptacle, means for holding a shoe stationary with its bottom pressed against the rim of the opening in the delivery chamber, means'for forcing material from the receptacle into the delivery chamber while the shoe is so held, and adjustable means fer varying the content of the delivery chamber tovary the thickness of the filler piece while maintaining its outline.

16. A shoe bottom filling machine having, in comhinatiom-means for delivering under pressure to the cavities in the bottoms of shoes plastic filler pieces all of the sameoutline, and an adjustable member manipulation of which varies the thicknesses of said filler pieces.

- SIDNEY J. FINN. 

